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Antitrust

A settlement has been reached with the final defendants in an antitrust case alleging that manufacturers conspired to manipulate the price of drywall and to eliminate the longstanding practice of limiting price rises during a construction project through the use of “job quotes.” Previously, settlements were reached with TIN, USG, and LaFarge, and have been approved.

The complaint for this class action alleges that an anticompetitive conspiracy has existed in the US to raise the price of MDIs and TDIs, which are precursor ingredients for foam and related products, since at least January 1, 2016.

When a handful of companies control 95% of a market, it is much easier to make anticompetitive arrangements. That has been the situation in the DRAM market, and the complaint for this class action claims that makers of DRAM components did in fact conspire to fix and inflate prices, causing price rises of, on average, more than 300% during the class period.

The complaint for this class action details what it alleges is an anticompetitive conspiracy among the principal pork producers and a provider of statistics that has allowed them to raise pork prices since 2009. The complaint claims that the conspiracy violates federal antitrust laws.

In an ongoing class action, four more airlines have agreed to settle a class action alleging antitrust violations. The airlines are Air New Zealand Limited, China Airlines, Ltd., EVA Airways Corporation, and Philippine Airlines, Inc. The complaint alleges that the airlines conspired to fix prices for travel originating in the US and going to Asia and Oceania.

Did companies keep the price of gasoline high in California while the rest of the country was enjoying lower prices? The complaint for this antitrust class action claims that a conspiracy kept the price as much as $1.50 higher than the national average, and that Californians paid $10 billion more for gas than they should have. Among the methods allegedly used, the complaint cites false maintenance shutdowns and the sustaining of shortages by exporting gasoline supplies out of California.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has agreed to pay out nearly $30 million to settle a class action alleging that it had “most favored nation” clauses in its contracts with 70 general acute care hospitals in Michigan. According to the complaint, these clauses violated antitrust laws and inflated the price of health care.

The complaint for this class action alleges that the anti-competitive agreements between rail companies in this case were aimed not at limiting technology or suppressing new products or keeping prices high. They were aimed at limiting competition for workers and keeping wages down. The complaint claims that on April 3, 2018, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil antitrust action and announced a settlement with two of the defendants in this case, Knorr Brake Company and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation.